I AM a Magic Kingdom Christian

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Tuesday, October 1, 2013    Megann Graf

My husband found us the coolest place to honeymoon after our wedding.  It was a little private island off the coast of St. Vincent that had 30 cottages build into its hillsides.  It was peaceful and beautiful and there was no TV or phone on the island.  In fact, in his great sacrifice for this vacation, my husband would have to go to the office each morning and get a photocopied print out of the USA Today or NY Times, just to see who was winning in the March Madness basketball tournament.  But, other than that minor issue, everything we needed was on that island.  There was fantastic food, a private beach, and, of course, each other.

One day, we decided to cross over the water and go into the island of St. Vincent to see if we could find any souvenirs.  We took a boat across, and asked for our cabby from the airport “Smokey” to take us into town.  Who knew that just a 5 minute boat ride away awaited a town so completely different than our little private island?  The poverty was undeniable and the shops were virtually non-existent.  There were no “touristy” shops to be found, I’m guessing, because there was nothing in that town that they wanted tourists to see.  We made it out with two generic coffee mugs that said “St Vincent” on them. We went back to our little island, glad that we were back safely, feeling so out of place on the “other side” of the island.  We were back to enjoying the luxuries of our resort, and eventually we would be going back to our safe and comfy American home. 

Yes, I am a Magic Kingdom Christian.  When Richard Stearns says “most Magic Kingdom Christians don’t know much about the Tragic Kingdom; in fact they go out of their way to avoid it.  That’s because it is terribly unpleasant, and even acknowledging it takes them out of their comfort zones.” He is talking to me.  While that time mentioned above was nearly a decade ago, I look at my life now and ask “what has changed?”  What have I done with my years as a Christian that have taken me out of my comfort zone?  I’ve never gone to a third world country, I don’t volunteer in the inner city, I am probably the least capable person to even be writing on this chapter, because I AM what he is calling out.  I’m not sure I could say I have made a radical change- because, let’s face it, radical is a pretty strong word, and I’m a pretty ordinary person.

Luckily for me, I have read further along in Unfinished then chapter 4.  I know there is hope that he mentions AFTER he calls me out on what I am lacking.  And, I think we have to be careful not get stuck in the Chapter 4’s of life.  We need to read on.  We need to read ALL of what God has for us.  We can’t just stop when we read all the things we are supposed to do and say “nope, not for me, can’t do it, don’t want to, I’m done.”  We have to keep on reading.  Because, the fact is, while the Bible does clearly list many, many things that Christians are supposed to do, it is also full of many, many people, who were the least likely people to ever get an “honorable mention” in the holiest of books. 

I think about Peter.  Peter denied Jesus three times . . . . three times!  He walked with Jesus, he ate with Jesus, he had living, breathing conversations with the Son of God, he was a DISCIPLE of Jesus, and he denied him.  But, when Jesus came back from the dead, he sought Peter out.  He came back to speak to Peter, in fact, the header above the scripture in my Bible says, “Jesus reinstates Peter.”  He came back to tell Peter “You’re still in the game, Peter!,” “Don’t stay here and wallow, Peter!,” he encouraged Peter to keep moving forward – to read the rest of His story for Peter’s life.  Peter was not supposed to stop in his “Chapter 4”, his destiny was not to be “I denied God, and now there’s no hope for me.”  The story wasn’t finished.  “Go and feed my sheep,” is what he tells Peter.  He tells this to Peter AFTER his big mistake, AFTER Peter had denied him.  God’s grace covered Peter and gave him the chance to move forward. I believe we have something to move forward for too. 

This Chapter ends saying, “but the great mission given to us by Christ lies unfinished.  It is time to relaunch.”  I would encourage you to do just that.  Don’t get stuck in what you haven’t done.  Don’t get stuck being overwhelmed by what you cannot do right now.  Don’t give up on God’s plan and God’s people because you feel that it/they are unattainable.  You may be making an impact on someone, who will go on to impact someone else, and before you know, a little seed, that you may have felt was completely insignificant, could go on to change many lives.  Never underestimate God’s power in your life.  Keep reading – He’s got so much more in store for us!!

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